Reruns, Extensions and Updates, Oh My!

The latest news on TitleNow, the Moratorium, RON and Data Call.

Dear Members,

OMG it's almost September.  By the time many of you read this, it WILL BE September.

Last week we had some technical snafus with notifying you of the TitleNow PopUp Webinar so we are re-running that webinar this week.  Join Fund Legal Education Manager Michael Rothman as he hosts WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT CYBER INSURANCE with Daniel Enriquez, Esq., shareholder at Carlton Fields in Miami. Daniel and his firm’s team litigate cyber coverage disputes for insurance companies and regularly counsel clients on coverage issues involving data breaches and social engineering frauds. This webinar is very informative and is a good introduction to what we have planned for Fund Members during October’s Cyber Security Awareness Month.   Thursday, Noon, 30 minutes, FREE!  Here is a link to register. ​https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1663985913655041037

Eviction and foreclosure moratorium extended until 10.1.20.  At 8:45 PM last night, an alert was sent out from the Governor's office that the moratorium has been extended until 10.1.20.  Attached is the Executive Order https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/PDFs/EO-20-211-moratorium-ext-10-1-20.pdf but it doesn't say much other than it is extended.  More information was contained in the alert, which stated the following:

Executive Order 20-211 provides a limited, one-month extension to Executive Order 20-180, which made significant changes to prior versions of the mortgage foreclosure and eviction relief orders.  These changes from Executive Order 20-180 that remain in effect include:

• A property owner may initiate a mortgage foreclosure or eviction process in any situation allowed under existing Florida statutes. The Executive Order only halts the final action of certain foreclosures and evictions.
• The protections of halting final action for certain foreclosures and evictions are only for persons affected by the COVID-19 emergency. The Executive Order does not cover tenants whose lease expires or when non-payment occurs due to reasons other than the COVID-19 emergency.
• The Executive Order applies only to residential tenants, not to commercial evictions.
   

RON Service Provider Update.  We have been getting questions from Members about which platforms are "smart phone" compatible.  While we did not engage in an analysis of whether smart phone use was "effective" for each platform, we did collect this information:

• NotaryCam: they have an Apple app and their website indicates that some clients can use an Android-based mobile device but they do not recommend it.
• Notarize: seems to support smart phones.
• Pavaso:  mobile device has to have a 10 inch screen minimum.  So smart phones likely not an option.
• ProperSign (new platform on the market): Will start with an Apple app and go from there but they view mobile devices as more complimentary to the process than a reasonable way to carry out an entire transaction.
• SignIX:  website states that you can sign documents "online, anywhere, on any device."
• eNotarylog:  no dedicated apps but the online chat information says "mobile friendly."
• SecureSign:  has apps for both iPhone and Android and states "multi-device capability."

So there you have it!
 

Data Call.  Your grace period has expired.  Florida law requires that title agents file their Data Call information by May 31, 2020 (which was NOT extended) but an Executive Order issued by CFO Patronis suspended all enforcement action against title agents who did not meet the deadline until September 1, 2020.  So if you have not filed, you should expect to receive some correspondence from the Department of Financial Services in the near future.

That's all for this week.  Stay safe and let us know how we can help you.

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
General Counsel and Secretary